What Does Genesis 4:23 Mean in the King James?
And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Lamech turns a wound into a warrant for killing, then repeats the claim in a parallel line until retaliation sounds like a rule.
THE MEANING
In this voice, injury becomes the warrant for killing: a man for a wound, a young man for a bruise. The parallel clauses make retaliation sound measured, while the repeated claim exposes how quickly hurt can become lethal. The demand to hear turns violence into a declaration with witnesses.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that injury makes killing proportionate: the verse places a wound and a bruise beside death, exposing the excess inside the claimed repayment.
THE ROOT
הָרַגְתִּי
haragtî
GROWS FROM
הרג
h-r-g
Kill, slay.
The verb comes from the same root as Cain’s killing of Abel in Genesis 4:8. English renders the earlier act “slew” and this one “slain,” while Hebrew carries one killing root from the first death into Lamech’s account.
ALSO GROWS
harag: To kill, to slay.
הָרַג
This is the verb root in Lamech’s claim and in the account of Cain killing Abel.
horeg: A killer; one who kills.
הֹרֵג
This form names the agent of the same action, keeping the act and the one who commits it together.
פִצְעִי
pətsʿî
GROWS FROM
פצע
p-ts-ʿ
Wound, injure.
“My wound” comes from the root that also names the act of wounding, so injury is not an abstract grievance here. Paired with “my hurt,” it supplies Lamech’s stated cause while his verb names death as the reply.
ALSO GROWS
petsa: A wound or injury.
פֶּצַע
This noun is the injury Lamech gives as the reason for killing.
patsua: Wounded, injured.
פָּצוּעַ
This form describes someone bearing the wound, bringing the root’s bodily consequence into view.
הַאֲזֵנָּה
ha'azennah
GROWS FROM
אזן
ʾ-z-n
Ear; by extension, to give ear or listen.
The verse doubles its summons: “hear my voice” and then “hearken unto my speech.” The second verb is built from the word for ear, making the wives’ role as listeners part of how Lamech stages his account.
ALSO GROWS
ʾozen: Ear.
אֹזֶן
This noun is the concrete body part inside the verb translated “hearken.”
heʾezin: To give ear, listen attentively.
הֶאֱזִין
This related verb shows that Lamech’s second summons asks for focused attention to his words.
THE PATTERN
When an injury becomes a warrant for vengeance, the response can multiply far beyond the original wound.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him; Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.THE THREAD
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.The Hebrew root הרג (h-r-g, kill) appears in both Cain’s “slew” and Lamech’s “slain.” It carries the first killing into Lamech’s voice, where death is recast as repayment for injury.
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